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In an article published on 7/10 in Bloomberg Law, Segal McCambridge Associate Ryan Musleh and Shareholder Carla Varriale-Barker unravel the legal significance of House v. NCAA – a $2.576 billion class settlement over NIL (name, image, likeness) restrictions from colleges – granted by Judge Claudia Wilken. The antitrust lawsuit will reshape the financial sphere of college athletics.
Ryan and Carla clarify, “The settlement agreement doesn’t simply resolve past antitrust violations related to name, image, and likeness restrictions—it transforms the NCAA’s governance model, particularly through its mandated arbitration framework, poses compliance burdens related to Title IX, and offers vague directives regarding the new revenue-sharing ‘Pool.’”
The Title IX challenges prove to be very critical as an appeal has already been filed by a group of female student-athletes arguing the proposed distribution under the settlement favors men. Currently, the distribution is skewed with 90% of the payout going to male athletes.
“But the broader question lingers: How can schools implement a revenue-sharing model that complies with Title IX’s requirements of equal treatment and benefits?” said the authors. “Schools will need to design revenue-sharing plans that align with both federal law and the new financial structure—or prepare for the next wave of litigation.”
Read the story in full, click here (subscriber-based).
